Consumer products such as food and various household items are commonly sold in packages which are initially closed, and must be opened to access their contents. Most of the time, after a package is opened for the first time, only a portion of the content of the package is removed, and the remainder is left in the package to be accessed at another time. In between uses, it is usually desirable to close or seal the package to prevent spillage and/or to preserve the freshness of the content remaining in the package. However, many packages are not configured to provide a means for reclosure after they have been opened. This problem is common inter alia, in bag-type packaging.
With bags, a user may try to simply fold the open end of the bag in order to close the opening. However, this approach is generally not sufficient because of the “memory” of the material and its tendency to open by itself when stored on a shelf or in the refrigerator.
In an attempt to deal with this package reclosure problem, consumers have adopted a variety of improvised methods, such as wrapping the packages with rubber bands, applying common adhesive tape, or placing weighted objects on the packages to hold them closed. However, each of these improvised methods has a problem associated with it. For example, rubber bands need to be available in a variety of sizes to fit variously sized packages. Alternatively, larger rubber bands need to be twisted several times to fit smaller objects. Household tape such as masking tape or transparent Scotch® brand tape can be inconvenient to cut into appropriately sized-segments. Also, inconveniently, a new piece of tape is needed each time the package is reclosed. With some kinds of tape (e.g. masking tape), the tape may be too weak to hold the bag closed. Finally, a weighted object placed on the closed package often fails to form a good seal, and can too easily fall, or be jostled, off of the package.
One product that has been marketed to address the reclosure problem is a type of plastic clip with a wide mouth. This device however is somewhat bulky and accordingly inconvenient to store, particularly when several are kept handy for use with a multiple number of packages. Also, such a device is only suitable for closing bag-like packages, and cannot be used for carton or box containers.
A recloseable package is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,517,243 which teaches a recloseable bag with a built-in reusable closure. However, the bag is complex and expensive to manufacture. Moreover, the use of the closure limited to the bag to which it is attached. Thus, if food is purchased in a non-recloseable package, the food must be transferred to the recloseable bag to be stored.
Another recloseable bag is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,141 (“Linnewiel”). The closure of Linnewiel is attached to the bag at the time of manufacture (col. 4 lines 3-15). As shown in FIG. 5, the closure of Linnewiel is a bi-layer closure. Specifically, the flat section 1 bearing high-tack adhesive 1a is covered by tape section 2 bearing silicone 2a. Thus, in use, the closure of Linnewiel has two layers—flat section 1 and tape section 2. The problem with this bi-layer configuration is that it is susceptible to twisting, and other problems relating to the layers mistakenly sticking at incorrect locations.
Reusable package closures for affixation the side of a bag are taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,911,563, 5,582,889, 5,824,380, 5,511,883, 5,855,434. These devices require multi-step processing for their manufacture, and are therefore expensive to make. In some cases, each tab or label is stored separately on strips of silicone paper or the like. This requires added packaging steps and material which further increases the costs of producing these devices.